New Mexico Runs Over Wyoming, 56-35

It was a night to forget for Wyoming Cowboys football. The Pokes were thumped by the New Mexico Lobos 56-35 Saturday night in Albuquerque.

New Mexico (8-4, 6-2) ran for 568 yards and seven touchdowns. It’s the most rushing yards allowed by the Cowboys in school history. It broke the old record of 548 allowed to Wisconsin on Oct. 6, 1973. The Lobos totaled 690 yards offense, which is also a school record for most yards allowed in a game by UW.

Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl said in a released statement from the university,

"New Mexico played really well tonight, and they beat us soundly in every which way and we got 24-hours to commiserate about it but we have a whole lot to play for. To say that we're looking past this team, that would be a disservice to New Mexico."

Teriyon Gipson ran for a career-high 217 yards and two TD’s, while Richard McQuarley added 121 yards and three scores. New Mexico QB Lamar Jordan added a career-best 176 yards on the ground with a TD and 122 yards and a touchdown through the air.

It was 21-0 after the first quarter and 35-7 by halftime in favor of the Lobos. New Mexico scored on their first five possessions and only punted twice in the game. They ran for 428 yards and had 10 rushes for 20 yards or more in the first half alone.

Wyoming (8-4, 6-2) scored on quarterback Josh Allen’s four yard run. That made it 21-7 Lobos and was as close as UW got. Brian Hill added 126 yards rushing and three TD’s in the second half. Austin Conway also had a 10-yard touchdown run.

The Cowboys finished with 449 yards of offense. Allen threw for 248 yards, but was sacked three times.

UW shares the Mountain Division title with Boise State and New Mexico. They won the tiebreaker by having a better record within the division. It’s the Cowboys’ first division title since the 1996 WAC Pacific Division title.

Wyoming will face San Diego State in the MW Championship game Saturday, Dec. 3. The game will start at 5:45 p.m., Mountain Time, and will be televised on ESPN.

The location of the game will be determined Sunday morning by a composite of four computer rankings.